The Background of the Research

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Research

Postcolonial theory has been widely used to analyze the effects of colonization that found in the present days such as in history, culture, ideology, economy etc. It is also mentioned by Tyson in her book Critical Theory Today that “Postcolonial criticism is particularly effective at helping us see connections among all the domains of our experience-the psychological, ideological, social, political, intellectual and aesthetic. . .” 2006: 417. Moreover, postcolonial criticism also deals with literature which the authors use literary work to share their ideologies. Postcolonial criticism focuses on colonial purpose in colonial discourse. There are some discourses in postcolonialism: Orientalism, hybridity, mimicry, hegemony, etc. In this case, the writer discusses Orientalism, which is introduced by Edward Said who assumed that the practice of Orientalism is the Westerner’s strategy to dominate the colonized. Besides, Orientalism is used as a tool to dominate the colonized by doctrinizing the negative judgments which are based on Western perspective. The issue of Orientalism still exists in the present days in many writings either literary works or non-literary works. One of the writings that is related to Orientalism is a memoir. It is non-literary work. The memoir can be called as travel book. Fussell states in Robenson’s book Defining Travel: Diverse Visions, “Travel books are a sub- species of memoir in which the autobiographical narrative arises from the speaker’s encounter with distant or unfamiliar data, and in which the narrative-unlike that in a novel or a romance-claims literal validity by constant reference to actuality” 2001: 105- 106. It shows that travel book is a part of the memoir that represents the author’s experiences. Travel book can be analyzed by using Orientalism. Said states in his book Orientalism, “The ensemble of relationships between works, audiences, and some particular aspects of the Orient therefore constitutes an analyzable formation—for example, that of philological studies, of anthologies of extracts from Oriental literature, of travel books, of Oriental fantasies—whose presence in time, in discourse, in institutions schools, libraries, foreign services gives it strength and authority”. It describes that travel book or memoir is one of writings that can be discussed in Orientalism. In this case, the writer will analyze the memoir entitled The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. This book was published in 2007. It tells about Rodriguez’s experience of living in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, exactly from 2002 until 2006. Rodriguez joins with a humanitarian team named Care for All Foundation CFAF in Chicago to help the victims of war torn that happen in Afghanistan. This action is one of Rodriguez’s tricks to avoid her second husband who was cruel, jealousy, and over protective. She finds many sad stories in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is different from America, Rodriguez’s hometown. She has skill in beauty only. However, she tries to do some useful tasks to help the Afghans, such as trauma counseling for Afghan’s children and receive anyone who want to have hair cut. Rodriguez’s profession as a hairdresser is underestimated by people Westerners who have skill in health first. Nevertheless, it becomes very useful for them and Afghans there. That is why there is no good hairdresser besides Rodriguez at that time. Hence, she decides to open a beauty school and a salon in Afghanistan. Rodriguez looks like a savior for the people there, especially Afghan women. There are several reasons for choosing this memoir. Firstly, The Kabul Beauty School is nobated as New York Times bestseller at 2007 and it is also released by Columbia pictures as a movie. The movie is played by an actress named Sandra Bullock Headrick, 2008. It is about Afghan women and culture. Secondly, The Kabul Beauty School contains about one of postcolonial issues that shows the binary opposition between the colonizer and the colonized. It seems to construct the West Occident as the opposite of the East Orient. Here, Afghanistan is described by the author as the Orient which is judged negatively by Rodriguez, a Westerner. Moreover, it portrays that the practice of Orientalism still exist nowadays. Based on the reasons above, the writer is interested in conducting this research entitled The Kabul Beauty School: Deborah Rodriguez’s Orientalist View about Afghanistan.

1.2 The Identification of the Problem